Friday, November 30, 2012

Thursday, November 29, 2012

In
Nineteenth Century India, a tiger’s claws were considered to be
powerful charms against evil. They were frequently used as amulets.
Visitors to India, especially the British, found this custom charming
and started to bring tiger claw amulets back to Britain as souvenirs. By
the middle of the century, with a growing market, makers of tiger claw
charms branched out into more elaborate pieces such as this one.

It
was clearly made for the British market. The design is very similar to
the shape and form of European jewelry. This particular necklace was
exhibited at the Paris International Exhibition in 1867. Ten tiger claws
of graded size have been set in engraved gold. The claws are linked by
chains and the whole piece hangs from a gold snake.

Bats make up one fifth of all mammals (1,116 species). They are among
the most endangered of the world's creatures, primarily because much of
their habitat has been eliminated by human encroachment or because they
are over hunted for food or persecuted as pests or disease carriers.
Their loss has serious consequences for the ecosystems to which they
belong because bats are important seed dispersers and pollinators for
many native flowering plants, and key insect predators globally.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

One of the ugliest animals ever, Anglerfish look really pissed off all
the time (maybe it’s because they live in the dark at the lonely bottom
of the sea). Their heads are enormous, with teeth that are sharp and
translucent.

The female sports a piece of dorsal spine that sprouts out
of their head above her mouth like a fishing pole. The tip is luminous
and attracts bait.

The male is way smaller by comparison and has no need
for the “fishing rod.” With his sharp teeth he latches onto the female
and fuses with her. He connects to her skin and bloodstream and loses
his eyes and all his internal organs except his testes. Ew, that’s a lot
to lose for love.

We just found a wonderful blog, The Featured Creature, which aims to introduce us to some of the wildly wonderful creatures that you probably never
even knew existed. There are over 30 million species on our planet, why
not get to know them all?